Tobias Funke

Living… with his wife Lindsay, daughter Maeby, brother-in-law Michael and the rest of their extended family in Southern California. Tobias and his wife left Massachusetts after Tobias lost his medical license and decided to become an actor. Now he’s come to the City of Dreams to make it big.

Profession… a former doctor, now a struggling actor looking for odd jobs. He was a psychiatry resident at Mass General hospital for two years, but he recently lost his medical license for, as the show’ unseen narrator explained, “administering CPR to a person who, as it turned out, was not having a heart attack.”

Interests… theatre, both acting and directing. Only a few months in town and he’s already got his first directing job, overseeing the play at his daughter’s high school. Thank God he got word of the production – they were about to let a P.E. teacher direct it! Now he might even be able to get himself a speaking role.

Relationship Status… in a strained marriage, strained in large part because his wife is convinced he’s gay. His self-help book, “The Man Inside Me,” was a great success in the gay community, much to his bewilderment. He and Lindsay have been considering transitioning into an “open” marriage, although they both doubt its success.

Challenge… maintaining faith in these difficult times. As he put it, “It’s important not to tie your self-esteem to how you look or what people think of you. I mean, look at me – I’m an actor. An actor, for crying out loud. You know how much rejection I face every day? But in this business of show, you have to have the heart of an angel and the hide... of an elephant.”

Personality… cheerful, though perhaps deluded. He’s uniquely optimistic, often to the befuddlement of those around him. Still, Tobias does have a dark side. He suffers from “never-nude” syndrome, meaning he has an extreme fear of being nude in front of others. He goes to great lengths to ensure that no one, including his wife, ever sees his privates. Needless to say, it’s not doing much for the health of his marriage.